Vegan What I Ate Wednesday #3 - Vegan Zucchini Nut Bread Smoothie

Wow… this is just might be my new favorite smoothie, but I proclaim that about once a week, so take that with a grain of salt. 

Zucchini Nut Bread Smoothie

 

I was all into my Pumpkin Pie Smoothies this week, but then I made this one this morning.  I’ve made it before, but for some reason this was better than the last few times.  Maybe it was the addition of freshly grated nutmeg.  We all know that spices are best used freshly-ground for best flavor, and nutmeg is one that I never use pre-ground.  There is absolutely no comparison of the taste of pre-ground nutmeg to freshly-grated.  I switched to grinding it myself when I once read somewhere that there is a high amount of sawdust in pre-ground nutmeg!  Whether that is true or not, I was incredibly disturbed. Then, once I tried it, the taste was so vibrant and bright that I was an instant convert.  I have this handy-dandy little nutmeg grater that has a hinged lid on the top where you store your whole nutmeg for future use.  It is super cheap too.  Check out this link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fox-Run-5571-Nutmeg-Grater/dp/B006CFQ3NA/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1380030981&sr=8-6&keywords=nutmeg+graterhttp://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71UYzQZzV7L._SL1500_.jpg

Here are the ingredients:

 

1 cup non-dairy milk, (I use almond or soy usually)

1 medium banana, frozen

1 medium  zucchini, approximately 1 cup, ends cut off and roughly chopped

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon FRESHLY GROUND nutmeg, (I may have used more - just add more to suit your taste)

2 cups fresh spinach

Sweetener of choice (if banana is not sweet enough), to taste

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

 

Place all ingredients except the nuts in blender and process until smooth.  Add ice if desired to thicken.  Stir in the finely chopped nuts. 

 

Note:  I like to stir the nuts in at the end rather than process them into the smoothie because I like a the little crunchy bits of nuts as I sip the smoothie.  Just use a wide straw so it doesn’t get clogged up.